Night Game
In Night Game, a mysterious battle fought by the forces of good and evil is being waged within a baseball stadium. Winston is soon drafted to play on the side of good... with an individual's soul as the prize.Eatock, James & Mangels, Andy (2008). The Real Ghostbusters Complete Collection booklet, p. 8. CPT Holdings, Inc. Cast Winston Zeddemore Peter Venkman Ray Stantz Janine Melnitz Egon Spengler Slimer The Jaguars The Umpire Evil's Baseball Team Good's Baseball Team Evil's Relief Pitcher Equipment Winston's Car Proton Pack Particle Thrower Trap Ecto-1 P.K.E. Meter Locations Firehouse Jaguars Stadium Plot On the night of a full moon, the mound in a baseball stadium eerily glowed and ectoplasmic energy shot out. All of a sudden, it vanished. The next day, Winston strode into the Firehouse with two tickets to a Jaguars baseball game. Peter, Ray, and Janine turned down his offer. Egon, as well, declared he couldn't go and was in the middle of a project. Winston spotted Slimer and appealed to his insatiable love of junk food. At Jaguars Stadium, the team was on the verge of another loss. Winston was still excited and noted it's not about winning and losing. However, ectoplasmic energy appeared again and hurled a baseball at super speed into the ground. Winston reported the event to the other Ghostbusters but they were skeptical. He then revealed his research about an ancient Indian legend, "Once every 500 years, the supernatural forces of good and evil fight a battle. That battle always takes place on the same site."Winston Zeddemore (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "Night Game" (1987) (DVD ts. 05:57-06:16). Time Life Entertainment. Winston says: "Nothing supernatural was ever reported in the stadium except in ancient Indian legends, they state once every 500 years, the supernatural forces of good and evil fight a battle. That battle has always taken place on the same site. On the very spot where the Jaguars Stadium now stands." This site happened to be the very spot currently occupied by the Jaguars Stadium. The other three are convinced but Egon stated they needed to first get a permit from the Mayor. Winston contended the permit process took days and there was the strong possibility of a major supernatural manifestation. Egon agreed but it was too late at night and it was best everyone got a good night's rest first. Winston decided to stay up a little while longer and read up on the legend. Soon enough, Winston pulled up at the stadium alone. The security guard happened to be a fan of the Ghostbusters and let Winston in to investigate. Ectoplasmic energy manifested again and covered the stadium. The guard managed to escape and ran to a nearby pay phone. He called up the Ghostbusters. The lights in the Firehouse turned on and Ecto-1 quickly pulled out. The Ghostbusters arrived to find an ectoplasmic barrier had enveloped the Jaguars Stadium. The P.K.E. Meter indicated the level of ectoplasmic energy was unprecedented. After some thought, Egon formulated a plan to have all three particle beams shoot at the same spot. The theory worked and a temporary tunnel was formed. The guys jumped in and landed in front of a giant umpire. Winston appeared and announced he was assigned short stop. The legend stated the ghosts always chose their form of battle from their surroundings. In this case, baseball. They managed to convince the Umpire to allow them to stay and observe the match. However, they learned a human soul was the prize. If good lost, evil would torment the soul for the next 500 years. So far the score was 0-0 in the eighth inning. Playing to their nature, the players for evil cheated and finally scored. The Ghostbusters tried to get the Umpire to penalize the players for evil for cheating. The Umpire contended that evil is allowed to cheat because that is the nature of evil. In the bottom of the ninth, evil switched pitchers and brought in their best - an entity that resembled a giant pink one-eyed humanoid elephant. With two outs, Winston was up to bat. On the verge of a strike out, Winston hit a three-run home run to win the game for the forces of good. The final score was 3-1. The forces of evil melt away as those of good congratulated Winston. As the Umpire bid them farewell, he cryptically mused they might meet again. While Egon thought about the Umpire, Winston revealed the soul that was at stake was Peter's. Peter fell to the ground and declared he was only going to Mets games. Quotes Trivia *The episode was recorded on June 27, 1986.Marsha Goodman (1986). Episode Call Sheet and SAG Report - "Night Game" (1986). *A character named Mr. Pencar was omitted from the episode.Marsha Goodman (1986). Episode Call Sheet and SAG Report - "Night Game" (1986). *In the episode introduction on The Real Ghostbusters Complete Collection, writer Kathryn M. Drennan admits to being a baseball fan and made a mistake with the sports terminology - Ray uses the term points instead of runs.Ray Stantz (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "Night Game" (1987) (DVD ts. 15:39-15:42). Time Life Entertainment. Ray says: "Hey, you're only down by one point. You have three outs to go." *The New York Mets are referred to twice and the Yankees, once.Ray Stantz (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "Night Game" (1987) (DVD ts. 02:49-02:51). Time Life Entertainment. Ray says: "So who's playing? The Yankees? The Mets?"Peter Venkman (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "Night Game" (1987) (DVD ts. 21:21-21:23). Time Life Entertainment. Peter says: "From now on, I only go to Mets games." *Egon's interest peaks when Janine mentioned fungus.Egon Spengler (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "Night Game" (1987) (DVD ts. 03:19-03:21). Time Life Entertainment. Egon says: "Did somebody mention fungus?" *Egon revealed he knew a guy at the The University who did a study on the dynamics of the curve ball.Egon Spengler (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "Night Game" (1987) (DVD ts. 03:27-03:31). Time Life Entertainment. Egon says: "I knew a guy at the University who did a study on the aerodynamics of the curve ball." *Winston loyally supports the rather unsuccessful Jaguars baseball team.Peter Venkman (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "Night Game" (1987) (DVD ts. 02:56-03:03). Time Life Entertainment. Peter says: "Your loyalty is admirable, Winston. And I'm sure someday, some distant far away day, the Jags will actually win again." *Egon mentioned going to the Mayor for a permit to legally investigate Winston's claim.Egon Spengler (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "Night Game" (1987) (DVD ts. 06:20-06:23). Time Life Entertainment. Egon says: "Okay, okay. Tomorrow, we'll go see the Mayor." *The license plate of Winston's car is "BIG-042".Winston's Car (2009).The Real Ghostbusters- "Night Game" (1987) (DVD ts. 06:54). Time Life Entertainment. License plate reads: "BIG-042" *Winston revealed he always wanted to play Major League Baseball.Winston Zeddemore (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "Night Game" (1987) (DVD ts. 10:51-10:52). Time Life Entertainment. Winston says: "I always wanted to play in the Majors." *The Umpire mentions Fair Play, a term for Sportsmanship, after the players departed.The Umpire (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "Night Game" (1987) (DVD ts. 20:32-20:42). Time Life Entertainment. Umpire says: "I told you no one can be neutral. You had to choose. Would you cheat for your friend or would you trust in fair play and let good win on its own terms?" Animation Errors *There is a continuity issue as the same ghost batter is up to plate before, and got struck out. Then a bit later he's running the bases. References Gallery Episode Screen Caps Image:021-01.png Image:021-02.png Image:021-03.png Image:021-04.png Image:021-05.png Image:021-06.png NightGame17.jpg NightGame18.jpg NightGame19.jpg Image:021-07.png Image:021-08.png Image:021-09.png Image:021-10.png Image:021-11.png Image:021-12.png Image:021-13.png NightGame20.jpg Image:021-14.png Image:021-15.png Image:021-16.png Collages and Edits JaguarsStadiuminNightGameepisodeCollage.png|''(For full size Click here)'' JaguarsStadiuminNightGameepisodeCollage2.png|''(For full size Click here)'' JaguarsStadiuminNightGameepisodeCollage3.png|''(For full size Click here)'' WinstoninNightGameepisodeCollage.png|''(For full size Click here)'' SupernaturalforcesinNightGameepisodeCollage.png|''(For full size Click here)'' JaguarsStadiuminNightGameepisodeCollage4.png|''(For full size Click here)'' WinstoninNightGameepisodeCollage2.png|''(For full size Click here)'' JaguarsStadiuminNightGameepisodeCollage5.png|''(For full size Click here)'' WinstoninNightGameepisodeCollage3.png|''(For full size Click here)'' FirehouseinNightGameepisodeCollage.png|''(For full size Click here)'' GhostbustersinNightGameepisodeCollage.png|''(For full size Click here)'' UmpireinNightGameepisodeCollage.png|''(For full size Click here)'' WinstoninNightGameepisodeCollage4.png|''(For full size Click here)'' TeamGoodinNightGameepisodeCollage.png|''(For full size Click here)'' TeamGoodinNightGameepisodeCollage2.png|''(For full size Click here)'' ScoreboardinNightGameepisodeCollage.png|''(For full size Click here)'' UmpireinNightGameepisodeCollage2.png|''(For full size Click here)'' WinstoninNightGameepisodeCollage5.png|''(For full size Click here)'' TeamEvilinNightGameepisodeCollage.png|''(For full size Click here)'' TeamGoodinNightGameepisodeCollage3.png|''(For full size Click here)'' EvilsReliefPitcherinNightGameepisodeCollage.png|''(For full size Click here)'' TeamEvilinNightGameepisodeCollage2.png|''(For full size Click here)'' RGB DVD Boxset Features TheRealGhostbustersBoxsetVol1disc4menusc03.png|Episode menu for Volume 1 Disc 4 TheRealGhostbustersBoxsetVol1disc4episode021.png|Episode features TheRealGhostbustersBoxsetVol1disc4episode021Intsc01.png|Introduction Category:RGB Episode